22 November 2010 10:11 AM

Matt Banahan was a battering ram in attack, offloading the ball with ease and out-Samoaing the Samoans with his physicality, but his relative inexperience at centre was sometimes exposed by his defensive positioning. The Bath wing flew up twice in the first 10 minutes when the rest of England's backs were holding a flat defensive line and playing a drift defence. By breaking the line he created holes in the midfield for Samoa's power runners, like Seilala Mapusua, to exploit. But he learned fast and didn't make the same mistake again.

FITTING WELCOME FOR SAMOA

Samoa brought their traditional '15-a-side sevens' game to Twickenham, running from everywhere and rarely putting foot to ball, but were forced to make an exhausting 77 tackles to England's 17 in the first half. Historically the Pacific Islanders — whose entire population could only fill Twickenham twice — would tire in the last 20 minutes, but with seven Premiership players and seveb playing rugby in New Zealand, they showed the fitness to fight to the final whistle — just as Fiji did on Friday night.

ASHTON THE FOX IN THE BOX

Chris Ashton was targeted early on — particularly by his opposite man, Leicester's Alesana Tuilagi, who pummelled him twice in the first 10 minutes. But it didn't scare the Northampton try machine who frequently came in-field in search of the ball. Ashton's former rugby league coach this week described him as 'revolutionising the game' in the way he hunts for the ball like a full back in league. He has the instinct to be in the right place at the right time and is rugby's answer to a 'fox in the box' striker. In the 23rd minute, he came 40 yards off his wing and hit the perfect midfield line to receive an offload from Shontayne Hape. He would have scored but for a forward pass.

LESSON FROM LEAGUE

England look very dangerous when they run two lines of attack. A forward, often Nick Easter, stands as first receiver where the fly-half traditionally stands, and Toby Flood lines up behind to offer a second wave of attack. It is how rugby league sides attack and causes real headaches for the defensive line, who cannot tell from what direction the next running line will come. It also sends the ball wide faster, bringing the back three — England's most potent attackers — into the line on first phase ball.

FIND A PLACE FOR FOURIE

Just because Chris Ashton didn't run the length of the pitch as a result, it didn't mean Hendre Fourie's 67th-minute tryline turnover wasn't as important as Mike Tindall's the week before. The South Africa-born openside, who didn't start learning English until he was nine, caused havoc all day with and without the ball. He made more metres (45) more turnovers (2) and double the tackles (10) of any other forward. He is just the sort of physical nuisance at openside flanker you need against the Springboks, but if Martin Johnson wants him on the pitch he will have to move his captain Lewis Moody to blindside and drop Tom Croft to the bench. It is just the sort of selection headache the national manager will relish.

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18 November 2010 5:59 PM

Some classic Pacific Island tackling, the worst air shot in history and Moody doing his best Mad Dog routine - before he became captain and (almost) sensible. In the last two games between England and Samoa there have been two sin bins and two red cards. And a lot of argie bargie. Here are some of the less refined moments.

(Don't forget to check out the exclusive Barbarians competition below)

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09 November 2010 9:24 AM

As Eric Cantona might have said (if you’d asked him): you can't fight fire with fire if you don’t have any coals. For a straight-talking man like Martin Johnson that translates into rugby parlance as follows: don't play Australia on their own terms or you'll get burned.

England cannot take on the Wallabies ‘Barbarian-style’ as the visitors currently possess a back line of the finest talents, and most exciting prospects, in world rugby. James O’Connor, Kurtley Beale, Quade Cooper — to name but three — are playing schoolboy rugby at Test level.

It is audacious, courageous and perfectly executed ninety per cent of the time. When expected to kick, they step and go, when expected to step and go, they chip. It is Roy of the Rovers stuff, should the comic character ever get bored of football and turn his hand to a man’s game.

For a defensive line they are almost unplayable. Do you push and harass or stand back and smother? Let’s hope England’s defence coach Mike Ford has an answer. Certainly if England stand as narrow as they did against the All Blacks, the Wallabies will waltz round at considerable ease.

There was a reason for England packing in the midfield against New Zealand. The traffic was supposed to slow down Ma’a Nonu and Sonny Bill Williams, but it left holes out wide that the Australian side will relish as much as Dan Carter did. The Wallabies may not have the offloading game of the giant All Black centres but their hands are even sharper; the ball will be gone before the tackle is even made.

So England have to inflict their own trademark style on the game and ensure it is played on their terms and at their tempo. They have to fight fire with water. England will be looking for stodge; physicality up front, keep-ball in the backs. They will beast the front row at scrum time and probably demolish the Australian tight five.

Yet no matter how brave of heart they remain creatively challenged. Toby Flood was solid. He doesn’t fall off tackles any more and wasn’t fazed by all the hype surrounding his opposite man, but he isn’t yet linking with Shontayne Hape outside him and Nick Easter stood at first receiver more often than anyone else. Even if England lack the creative artillery of Australia in the centre, they must offer more of a threat off first-phase ball and stop cutting back inside.

Quade Cooper was recently described as the ‘George Best of rugby’ because of his endless, effortless trickery so Flood’s afternoon won’t be any easier. If he can at least get Hape charging, or bring the back three — far and away England's most threatening attackers — into the line it will be a start.

The weather should help too. On a wet Twickenham turf, the sparkling Aussie attack could be reduced to a conservative style that doesn’t really suit them, although it would take a full-on squall to nullify the threat of Cooper and Co. The hard grounds of Super Rugby bear little resemblance to the soil at HQ in November and if Australia take 20 minutes to adjust, England must not let them settle.

All in all it should be a match of good versus evil. Australia will try to play the rugby and England will try to stop them. Is it cowardly to pray for rain?

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To win the tickets simply answer this question:

Who scored a hat trick of tries in the Baa-baas’ game last year against the All Blacks?

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Tickets are on sale via ticketmaster.co.uk / 0844 847 2492. Prices from £35 to £65 for adults, £17.50 to £32.50 for juniors (U-16), with special family tickets available.

02 November 2010 5:06 PM

And so we return to the perennial debate that precedes every autumn series at Twickenham: is it the performance that counts or the final numbers on the scoreboard? Win at all costs or play your heart out and hope for the best?

It may seem like a chicken-egg argument — isn't the level of performance intrinsically linked to any chance of victory? — but the difference between the two is far subtler than that. Focusing on one or the other entirely transforms a team's mindset.

Suppose England focus on victory. They face the All Blacks with what must essentially be a very conservative gameplan; damage control, territory, big defence, low-risk strategy. Everything comes down to protection of the try line or preservation of a lead. They might even sneak a win. But if they do it will, in all likelihood, be in multiples of three.

Suppose England focus on performance. They each have personal and team objectives that no opposition can influence. There is no emphasis on the myth of the black jersey in front of them, no concern for chasing numbers on a scoreboard. The performance level is entirely in their own control, even if the scoreboard is not.

Ask 83,000 supporters where they stand at Twickenham on Saturday and you would get mixed results. Some would argue they didn't pay seventy-odd quid to see the team lose. Others would argue they didn't pay seventy-odd quid to watch something only faintly resembling entertainment.

Me? I sit on that irritating fence in the middle of the West Stand. We are now three years into a World Cup cycle so building momentum becomes of paramount importance. England want to fly to New Zealand with a string of victories under their built, particularly at home. A fancy highlights package from last November won't help get over the jet lag, being unbeaten in 10 Tests just might.

Martin Johnson is a pragmatic coach, a born winner famed for grinding out victory in a Leicester or England shirt. That style is more appropriate now than it ever was before. The last two years were the Novembers to emphasise the importance of performance over final scores, to play courageously, to try things. The evidence suggests Johnson didn't. He focused on wins and when they didn't come he was left with not a lot.

That mentality hasn't changed. The All Blacks just lost, England just won. Johnson, as ever, will be drilling into his players that now is the time — and a genuine chance — to beat New Zealand at Twickenham. It doesn't matter how ugly it looks as long as the scoreboard is sitting pretty on Saturday night.

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Speaking to New Zealand centre Sonny Bill Williams from the All Blacks' base in Kensington this week, you cannot fail to be impressed by his humbleness given the reputation — and size — of the man.

The hotly-tipped rugby league convert, who watched his side lose 26-24 to Australia in Hong Kong on the weekend thanks to a last-gasp try from James O’Connor, promised the All Blacks will 'bounce back hard', but that was not all he revealed.

Williams is yet to pull on an All Blacks Test jersey but the 17st wrecking-ball centre is already tipped to be a star of the series. If he does come off the bench at Twickenham to smash holes in England’s defence, Martin Johnson’s men will have a certain injured team-mate to thank.

‘It was guys like Jonny Wilkinson telling me in Toulon about his experiences playing for his country,' he explained. 'That’s when I just thought, “go back to New Zealand and give it the All Blacks a crack”.'

On behalf of Mike Tindall, Shontayne Hape and anyone else who might have to tackle him on Saturday afternoon, may I be the first to officially say: 'Thanks Jonny'.